GEICO Ordered to Pay Woman $5.2 Million Settlement for Contracting STD in Ex-Boyfriend's Car, Insurers' Appeal Rejected

A Missouri woman is in line for a big payout after a court ruled that GEICO General Insurance Company owed her millions for contracting a sexually transmitted disease during a sexual encounter in her ex-partner's car. The Missouri Court of Appeals made the decision this week, ordering GEICO to pay a hefty $5.2 million settlement to the woman, identified only as "M.

O.," after she contracted HPV from her former lover in his GEICO-insured vehicle. The woman filed a lawsuit in February 2021 seeking damages after her ex-partner, who was infected with HPV but did not disclose it to her, exposed her to the virus during unprotected sex in his car.

GEICO initially refused to settle and the case went to arbitration, where the arbitrator found the ex-partner liable and awarded the woman $5.2 million. GEICO challenged the ruling in court, but the Court of Appeals upheld the decision in favor of the plaintiff.

GEICO's attorneys argued that the arbitration process violated the company's due process rights and requested a new hearing, but their requests were denied. The judges ruled that GEICO could not challenge the decision after the judgment was made and damages were determined. Judge Tom Chapman, one of the three judges who ruled against GEICO, did express some sympathy for the insurer, acknowledging that they were essentially bystanders in a case where they had little opportunity to participate.